Our Montana Vacation: Wildlife & Wildflowers

While in Yellowstone we were able to see lots of wildlife.  Some where pretty up close.  Now I'll be the first to admit that I thoroughly enjoy seeing wildlife but I appreciate a little space in between them and I.  Early one morning we were driving through Yellowstone along the edge of a rocky wall with a cliff on the other side of the road we came around the bend in the road and there about 50 feet in front of us was a large buffalo standing there in the road looking at us. I immediately stopped the car and said to Ott, E... "there's a buffalo.... in the middle of the road.... what do I do?"  Ott, E said, "Lets take some pictures."  So he leaned out the window and took pictures (even some video) and eventually the buffalo walked over to the edge of the road and we proceeded (in the car) around him and on our way.  We joked about that morning every day for the rest of the trip.

This buffalo was laying down near the edge of the road, so we snapped a quick picture of him too.

Ott, E likes buffalo a lot so I wanted to snap a picture of him with one in the background.

 This buffalo was sharpening his horns on a small spruce tree, when we stopped he stopped and walked away (see picture below.)

 Then we saw a herd of about 20 buffalo together in a field.

We also saw a lot of Elk in Yellowstone.  These first 3 pictures are of elk that hung out near the Visitor Center.

 These Elk hung out near the Mammoth Hot Springs.

 And then with Ott, E's big zoom lens we were able to snap pictures of a heard of Elk off in the distance heading down a large hill.

Late July was a perfect time to visit Yellowstone to see lots of Wildflowers.  There were so many colors and varieties of flowers and it made for some very colorful landscape shots.

And lastly I leave you with one of my favorite pictures of Blue Lupine,

If you missed the pictures we took of the Geysers in Yellowstone click here.  Or if you missed pictures of the landscapes and hillsides in Yellowstone click here.
This post was linked to Thankful Thursday on the wife of a Dairyman.